A Rapid Assessment of the Trade Dynamics and Consumption of Key Protected Marine Species in the Zanzibar Archipelago Focusing on the Pemba Channel Conservation Area (PECCA)

The Zanzibar archipelago off the coast of Tanzania is an area of natural beauty known for its sandy beaches, coral reefs, and popular marine species such as dolphins and sea turtles, attracting 500,000 foreign tourists each year.  

Alongside a booming tourist industry, artisanal fishing is a main economic pillar for the local communities. Thirty-four thousand tons of fish are caught annually, providing income and food for around 190,000 people. However, as demand from tourist hotels and restaurants increases, coupled with global impacts on marine life, local coral harvesting for construction material and over-harvesting, increasingly little is left for the local communities. 

Population growth and the demands of tourism  

To ensure they have food and income, local fishers are heading out to sea without licences and into prohibited areas.  

By interviewing local artisanal fishers, TRAFFIC’s Rapid Assessment of the Trade Dynamics and Consumption of Key Protected Marine Species in the Zanzibar Archipelago Focusing on the Pemba Channel Conservation Area (PECCA) found that most of the catch from this specific area was consumed locally. 

Yet, to make money, larger, more profitable fish such as tuna and snapper, octopus, lobster and protected species, such as sharks, rays, sea turtles, sea cucumbers, seahorses and pipefishes, are sold to hotels on Zanzibar’s main island, Unguja, or Dar es Salaam and Mombasa on Tanzania’s mainland. A small portion of these protected species are held back in Pemba for food and traditional medicine. 

Local people reported a decline in how much fish they catch. Two-thirds of the fishers noticed a marked decrease in the populations of keystone-protected marine species, such as sharks, over the last 10 years.  

Increasing trends found for four protected species  

The report focused on four groups of marine CITES-listed species: Chelonids (sea turtles); Elasmobranchs (sharks, rays, and skates); Holothurians (sea cucumbers); and Syngnathids (seahorses and pipefishes). 

Printable species information sheet

Sea Turtles 

Endangered or Critically Endangered* sea turtles such as Green, Hawksbill, and Loggerhead, and occasionally, the Olive Ridley are found within the region. Despite government awareness-raising initiatives, law-enforcement officials and cautious fishers indicated an increasing demand for and capture of sea turtles for local consumption.  

Fishers implied that its delicacy encouraged requests from clients and hotels on the mainland, regardless of the alarming number of deaths due to sea turtle meat, while shells are commonly in curio shops or by street vendors targeting tourists visiting the archipelago.  

Sharks, rays and skates 

The study found that shark meat is mainly eaten within the country, but according to fishers, not by the coastal communities. In contrast, the more lucrative shark fins were collected and consolidated for international trade.  

Data showed that over the past ten years, even though the Zanzibar government does not provide export licenses, a clandestine network of dealers appeared to trade shark fins primarily to markets in Asia and the Middle East.  

Sea Cucumber 

While this study focused on wild-caught species, farmed and wild-collected sea cucumbers are traded in the Zanzibar Archipelago. Recently, Tanzania started providing farming permits in specific areas, yet banned international trade from mainland Tanzania.  

Farmed species tend to be harvested by women and children for five to six hours a day, collecting up to 2 kg of sea cucumber each. These are then dried and are the most exported marine-protected products, with the majority destined for Asia.  

Due to the ban, the number of sea cucumber dealers trying to insert farmed sea cucumbers from the mainland into the archipelago’s exports also gives illegal traders more cover to follow a similar path. This is reflected by fishers who recognised a significant decrease in their ability to catch wild sea cucumbers. 

Seahorses and pipefish 

Zanzibar has banned the harvest and export of seahorses and pipefishes. Yet it was found that seahorses are often traded, fetching higher prices abroad as dried (wild) specimens for traditional medicine and curio trade, as well as a much smaller trade in live (wild and captive-bred) seahorses for aquariums.  

From the study and interviews, the higher prices paid for traditional medicine products are increasing the harvest of these protected species, and local demand is mounting due to traditional medicine use by a growing community of expatriates from Asia.  

Destructive methods in illegal fishing 

Alongside fishing without permits and in prohibited areas, illegal fishing off the archipelago uses unlawful methods such as illegal nets, traps, spear guns, and chemicals such as cyanide and dynamite. These activities impact fish stocks and threaten other marine life around the islands. 

For example, the use of dynamite and the dragging of seine nets have destroyed the coral of Misali Island and nearby areas, leading to the decline in at least 30% of the coral reef.  

Blue Economy is positive, but subsequent trade must be monitored 

The policy aims to promote economic growth, social inclusion, and improvement of the people's livelihoods in Zanzibar while preserving and ensuring the sustainability of the ocean’s biodiversity and coastal areas.  

Encouraging tourism will provide extra job security and economic growth for the area. However, the trade and demand from these tourists must be monitored, combined with raising local awareness of what is illegal to trade.